Fuchida was more excited than usual as he awoke that morning. As general commander of the air squadron, he made some last-minute checks on intelligence information before going to warm up his plane.

Three hundred and sixty Japanese planes led by Captain Fuchida headed toward Hawaii on 7th Jan 1941. He knew the objective of this mission: to surprise and cripple the American naval force in the Pacific.

The destruction left behind included 20 naval vessels including eight enormous battleships with over 200 planes. The human cost was over 2000 military and civilians killed and more than a 1000 injured.

Fuchida was the first over the target and the last to leave. It was his voice that sent his aircraft carrier the message “Tora! Tora! Tora!” (Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!) indicating the success of the surprise mission.

This was the same commander that led the first of the two attacks in one day on Darwin. At the end of the day 243 ( some say 3-4 times that number) civilians and servicemen were dead and more than 400 injured. Captain Fuchida led a total of 242 (not 93) Japanese planes against Darwin on that fateful day of 19th Feb 1942.

After Pearl Harbour, he had many close brushes with death including six crashes into the sea. Recovering on board after an appendectomy, the ship was bombed and both his legs were broken and he was thrown into the sea. He realised he was the sole survivor of the seven Air Commanders and the thirty-two squadron leaders who took part in the Pearl Harbour attack.

After Okinawa fell in June 1945, he was ordered to Hiroshima to organize aerial defenses for a final stand against the Allied juggernaut. On the evening of Aug 5, Fuchida was abruptly directed toattend a briefing 500 miles away. The Atom Bomb was dropped on Hiroshima – August 6th, 1945. It was not until the war was over that he was to realise why God had kept him from death on so many occasions. After the surrender by Japan, his military career was over and he became more unhappy and depressed. This was further aggravated by his call to be a witness at the war crimes trials.

On his way to give evidence and as he got off the train he was handed a leaflet entitled “I was a Prisoner of Japan.” The leaflet produced by the Pocket Testament League was the experience of Jake DeShazer who was one of the Doolittle Raiders whose carrier-launched B-25s bombed Japan in 1942. Seen here (far right) on USS Hornet just before leaving,DeShazer’s plane crash-landed in China, where Japanese occupiers captured and imprisoned him. Jake described how he was cruelly treated. He told about his violent hatred for the Japanese guards.

But one day, the prisoners in the camp were given Bibles. As Jake read it he came to understand that the book was more than an historical story. Its message of love, grace and forgiveness became relevant to him right there in his cell and he accepted Jesus to come into his life. His life changed and his entire attitude toward his captors changed too. His hatred turned to love and concern, and he decided that should his country win the war, and he be set free, he would someday return to Japan to introduce others to this life-changing Bible. Jake DeShazer did return to Japan after the war and for 30 years he was a missionary sharing the
love and forgiveness of Christ. In a youtube interview, he says in 1948 in just over 10 days more than 30,000 Japanese accepted Christ as their saviour.

Now Fuchida had Jake’s story, printed in leaflet form, in his hand. It was all about a forgiveness and a peace he could not understand and could not explain. Since the American had found this forgiveness and peace in the Bible, he decided to purchase a Bible.
Eagerly he read the Bible and sought help from the Pocket Testament League representative on how to become a Christian. Now he understood about the love of Jesus and for the first time he understood the meaning of Jesus dying as a substitute for his sin.
His actions at Pearl Harbour could not be changed, but now he was aware of why God had kept him from harm. His new mission in life was to tell others how they can overcome the hatred in their hearts and minds.

He learnt that Jesus is the only One who was powerful enough to change his life and inspire him with God’s thoughts. Jesus was the only answer to Jake DeShazer’s tormented life and He is still the only real answer for people today.

God’s forgiveness is powerful and life-giving. When we feel it deep down it can be infectious and really change our lives.

Is there someone who would benefit from your forgiveness today?

Written by Tim White: DIDUNO

This link takes you to Stares and Strips a US army website that tells the story in more detail. Enjoy! http://www.stripes.com

Have you ever pondered the significance of the number 3? The other day I was gazing at a red strawberry I had thrown on my green grass and I was struck by the powerful contrast of those two colours, especially when I then compared it to the bright blue sky above.

We know these three colours, Red, Green and Blue are the 3 primary colours that all other colours and shades of colour have their existence. I then pondered that the number 3 appears in many different places in our world, let me tell you of a few.

There are threemain types of massive objects: planets, stars, and galaxies

And three main types of galaxies: spiral galaxies, irregular galaxies, and elliptical galaxies

There are three Laws of Motion, 1st law Enertia, 2nd law: FORCE = MASS times ACCELERATION, 3rd law “For every action there is an equal and opposite re-action“

There are three types of natural laws: the laws of physics, the laws of chemistry, and the laws of biology

And 3 stages of prenatal development: the germinal stage, the embryonic stage, and the fetal stage- 3 Trimesters

There are also 3 stages of Labour during birth

And in physics three main types of stable particles: the proton, the neutron, and the electron, All solid matter consists of atoms built entirely from these three particles.

Each proton and each neutron is built from smaller particles called quarks. How many quarks are there in a proton? Exactly three. How many quarks are there in a neutron? Exactly three.

At the subatomic level there are three types of charges: positive charges like protons have, negative charges like electrons have, and neutral charges like neutrons have.

And there are three main properties associated with subatomic particles: mass, charge, and spin

The triangle is the strongest and most stable of shapes – it has 3 sides

And there are three important stages in learning, preparation / Cognitive stage, Practice / Associative stage, Automatic / Autonomous stage

In a traditional family, there is Father, Mother and the Child

Now this is where it gets interesting:

Apparently on a spiritual level – there are Three Heavens – 1st heaven we see, 2nd heaven is where the evil demonic realm exists and the 3rd heaven is the one we all want to enter!

There was three Patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

There are 27 books in the New Testament, which is 3 x 3 x 3

There were three wise men bearing three gifts

Jesus Christ ministry lasted for 3 years

Peter the Apostle denied knowing Jesus Three times

The prophet Jonah spent three days and nights in the belly of a large fish

The devil tempted Jesus three times.

Jesus prayed three times in the Garden of Gethsemane before His arrest.

There were 3 hours of darkness that covered the land while Jesus was suffering on the cross

Christ was dead for three full days and three full nights

There was 3 archangels – Gabriel, Michael, Lucifer (AKA now known as The Devil)

And the Bible teaches that God consists of three unique personalities: Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

There is a scripture in Romans 1:20 that sums this up in one sentence, it says:

Romans Chapter 1:20 For from the creation of the world the invisible things of Him are clearly seen, being understood through the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.

God has designed all these amazing coincidences to point us to himself! He is one, yet three and the entire universe points to his existence! Even the word Universe speaks of him, Uni meaning One and Verse meaning The Word ” In the beginning God” Genesis 1:1 –Universe is one verse!!

Oh yes, Tesla the famous scientist and Innovatorfavourite number was also three. ( Do you think God and Tesla enjoyed the Three Stooges?)